AN ICON IS 40(HBD REV LAURIE IDAHOSA)

wow wow wow....

wasn't gonna blog but i just couldn't let today slip by without writing this...

dunno if to call it a birthday wish post, or a tribute or a thank you post... but one thing i can assure you is it's about Rev Laurie Idahosa...

well in case you don't know who she is let me give you a quick preview
Rev. Laurie Whetstone- Idahosa was born in Wilmington, Delaware, USA. Along with her one brother, Eric, she grew up in a Christian home with parents who are Pastors. She married the love of her life, Bishop F.E.Benson Idahosa in 2002 whom she first met at the tender age of 13. They have been blessed with three sons, Feb Jr., Nathaniel and Judah.

She has travelled to over 40 countries with renowned ministries sharing her faith and preaching the Gospel. She graduated from the School of Biblical Studies and the School of Ministerial Training in New Castle, DE and received her Bachelors in Christian Ministry from Chesapeake Bible College and Seminary in Maryland, USA. She trained with Living Water Teaching in Guatemala as a missionary and worked as an Emergency Medical Technician with the Wilmington Manor Fire Department in Delaware for several years. She functioned as a First Aid and CPR instructor with the American Red Cross and was also certified in Disaster Relief through the International Disaster Relief Organization in Oklahoma City, OK. She is a gifted event manager, real estate investor and has owned several successful businesses. She is bilingual in Spanish and English.

Rev. Laurie has worked at Benson Idahosa University since 2003 initially as the Director of Spiritual Life and later as the Director of Campus Life. She currently serves as an executive member of Christian Women Fellowship Int’l. (CWFI), is an active board member of the Faith Mediplex Hospital (Benin City) and serves as a Pastor in Church of God Mission, International. Along with her husband, she founded the flourishing “Big Ben’s Children’s Hospital” in Benin City, which was established after the tragic loss of their first son, Benson Idahosa III.

She is a strong, hospitable, visionary woman whom has blended beautifully with the Nigerian community where she currently lives with her family. She is a Pastor, a motivational speaker and a mentor to countless people around the world. She is a warm and caring soul. When you know her, you feel as if you have met a lifelong friend.(well i bet a lot of you didn't know this about her, it's all on her facebook page) 

well i met her when i became a student of benson Idahosa university, but didn't get to know her closely until i became a chaplain in my 200 Level, i remember all school leaders had to resumeearly and after the anointing service at faith arena we took a prayer walk around the school premises and then ended with a dance at the common room, as i danced with gusto, Rev Laurie pulled me out to the centre of the circle formed by other chaplains and resident Advisors and she danced with me. i was so shocked(as in like, the Almighty Rev Laurie can dance with me? chai my own don better ooo,)

thus i discovered that she could be so simple in ways that amazed one, then came an event (i dey try remember the name, either tradefair or something like that) where all sort of games were organized and lo and behold most of the games were bought by President Feb and Laurie from America, they even brought games from their personal house to school for us all to play(those were fun times) i remember playing Their Nitendo wii(that was my first time ever of touching the game ooo, but i couldn't show it na, i no fit fall my hand,) well i won many prizes that day.

Another example was during my third year as we registered students in the spiritual life division(now it's campus life divison i hear... mhen i miss SLD) when Rev Laurie would open up her office to use to rest and gist with her, wow, and then that same year i did something(i'm not telling you what it is ....) suffice to say other chaplains were pointing fingers at me and it got to a point i said i was going to step down as a chaplain if need be. The school pastor then (God bless his soul) reported my stubbornnes to the authorities, and instead of rebuking me or asking me to go ahead and step down if i wanted to, she simply took me to the scriptures and i saw things the way i had never seen before,  her insight into God's word is uncanny and all my stubborn resolve melted away and i was broken, thank God i didn't step down as i would have made a mistake i wouldn't have recovered from.

Now knowing her more personally meant more checks on me, (made me behave myself compulsorily) because as friendly as she is, rev Laurie can be strict attimes though slow to anger (if you get to that stage where she get's mad at you then the devil must have literally pushed you over the edge) also it meant getting to know her more, and i discovered the selfless nature in her, she would forgo food to make sure everyone around her had eaten, she would never give a job to you that she couldn't do and of course while i know a christian should live in divine health, if you must fall sick, make sure it's when Rev Laurie is close by.(you go well with overdose of care and of course food.) lolz.
those of us who rarely went home during holidays knew what it felt like to have a home away from home and in Rev Laurie we found a mother.the amazing thing was how she would take care of other people's children when she didn't have any of her own.(No wonder God blessed her with three amazing boys... maam it remains girl ooo)

As i conclude, it's been 5 years i graduated from Benson Idahosa University, and Rev Laurie is more busy than ever, with her pastoring a church fully, three young men to keep up with, Campus life, CWFI, Big Ben, and many more, yet she finds time to still chat with me, i am humbled, she somehow finds time to also respond to facebook posts and messages and i'm sure by the time you check her wall tomorrow or latest by next(depending on how overwhelming the messages are) she would have liked every single post wishing her happy birthday

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the bible asked... "A Virtuous Woman who can find? i know the answer, President FEB Idahosa found one in Rev Laurie Idahosa.

Happy 40th Birthday ma... Like i said earlier today the only words that can really capture things is I LOVE YOU MA. more grace...
many happy returns of the day... WE celebrate you and we celebrate with you...